Local MP calls for Highgate post office to reopen

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone has called for the sub-post office in Highgate Village to reopen, saying the "need is evident" for a local facility. Thousands of post offices were closed by the last government in a bid to stem losses made by the UK-wide network. Featherstone writes in the Highgate Handbook that the time has come to reassess some of the local closures.

Five of the post offices in Featherstone's Hornsey and Wood Green constituency were closed, despite local opposition and a national petitione gathering over four million signatures. Since the closure of the village post office, the nearest for many Highgate People has been the office on Archway Road. But Featherstone feels this service is now under strain.

"On each and every occasion I have been – there has been a long queue (often into the street)," writes Featherstone. "I want a sub-post office to re-open in Highgate Village (and in other locations where the need is evident following the loss of a local facility) and was wondering if anyone else felt the same?"

The MP met last month with Richard Barker, manager of the regional post office network, to discuss waiting times at post offices in Hornsey and wood Green. Waiting times at Wood Green is said to be the worst, with average waiting times of 10 minutes and some customers reporting waiting times of up to an hour.

Local residents have also reported long waits at the Archway office, especially at busy periods such as lunchtime - not ideal for busy local people. The good news is that the Royal Mail is now looking at the possibility of introducing more community outreach services, although it is not yet known what form these might take.

Do you feel the lack of a local post office in Highgate? Is the Archway service enough for the local area, or do you avoid the post office wherever possible and manage as much as you can online? Should the rural subsidy be reintroduced, or is there a better way to make the post office pay for itself? Let us know below!

Image: Lynne Featherstone